Q&A! Blogging

AwesomelyLuvvie

With starting my blog just over nine months ago, I have experienced the challenges of getting your blog up and running quickly firsthand.

I wanted new bloggers and old bloggers alike to have somewhere they could go to get advice from a real blogger, not a book or website, on how to improve your blog and get inspiration to write.

Here is a detailed Q&A all about blogging!

1. How do you think of new subjects to blog about?

Sometimes, I have blogger's block (when you just cannot seem to find anything to write about!)! I don't always think of new subjects to blog about by myself- I usually turn to family or friends for some suggestions and then narrow those down.

2. How can someone mainstream their blog and its purpose?

When you create your blog, you have to know what you want to blog about. Do you want to be a lifestyle blogger, like me, and blog a little about this and a little about that, or do you want to focus your work on a particular idea or topic? I've found that blogs that do not classify themselves and are all-over the place for no reason do not succeed as much as those who are mainstreamed do. If you are having a hard time mainstreaming your blog, create "series"! I did this because I am a very open person, and it was hard for me to focus on only one idea to blog about. A blog series can be one like my "Nail Art Journal" or "Channel Reviews".

3. What effect do images add for the audience?

This is something I can never stress enough: people like visuals. Whether it's a gif or a cartoon, people like visuals. Try to incorporate something nice to look at in each blog post. I like to visit sites like Animationsa2z and even just Google Images for good pictures. Make sure to credit the original artist or publisher, though, or you could land in some serious violation trouble, get flagged, or even blocked or banned in extreme cases!

4. What are good ideas for tabs at the top of my blog?

I like to keep my tabs broad and simple: Home, About Me, Contact Info, Post Archive, Books, and F.A.Q.s. My blogging mantra is simple is key. Clutter won't appeal to anybody.

5. How can I make my blog eye-catching?

A great way to really spruce up a plain blog is to add a cute header, banner, or changing up your blog design! It was really hard for me to make my blog eye-catching in the beginning, but I found it easy to use a template already provided by Blogger if you are a BlogSpot user. You could also use HTML codes to add things like custom mouse-icons and scrollbars to your blog. Just Google "HTML codes for blogs", and you should get many results.

6. Where can I create some blog art?

Check out Picasion's Glitter Maker (my long-time trusted text generator) to quickly spruce up your blog within minutes. However, if you want something more professional but don't know who to turn to, have no fear! I make custom blog and YouTube channel banners for free that are amazing quality and look very professional. Contact me for more information. If you are looking for someone to change up your blog design or make you a cool button, check out my friend Cathy! By the way, making buttons are a great way to promote your blog and help out others at the same time! Do you have a button you want to share with me? Let me know, and I just may put it on as a widget on my blog!

7. How do you stay motivated to blog?

I've had blogger's block before. I know how it feels! Whenever no blogging ideas come to my mind, I check out various 365 Blogging Challenge websites! They have 365 assorted blogging prompts for you to choose from- one for each day of the year! One of my favorites is this Pinterest pin. While it's not a challenge, it has fun ideas to blog about! You can always also post a notice telling your readers that you are taking a break for a bit until you think of good ideas to write about, or ask them to suggest posts for you. However, if you are taking a little break from blogging, keep it no longer than one week, tops. Otherwise, people will start to get bored of waiting for you to post. If you are going to be busy one week and know you cannot post, don't keep it to yourself. Let your readers know why, where, and when you will be gone. Let them know to not expect your posts for a while, or they may start un-following you!

8. How can I enhance guest blog posts?

Guest blogging is so fun! I did a guest blog post for Back-to-School with my amazing friend Alisha, +xXFan GirlXx, a few months ago. Check it out here and be sure to leave a comment! You can find someone as passionate about blogging as you are, or try and reach out to someone through social media. Try blogger's emails or Twitter accounts for the most professional feel. You can either do a combined blog post, blog on each other's blogs, or have someone write by themselves for you. If you don't know who to turn to, ask me to blog with you! I would be more than happy to support you and hopefully become web friends!

9. How can I make blogging feel fun and not like a chore?

If you started a blog, I truly hope you started it for the right reasons. You should never feel like blogging is a chore if it is something you really love. You should be excited every time you sit down and open up your blog. You should be motivated to blog. If you aren't, blogging is not for you. Maybe you could give making YouTube videos a chance if you are more of the talkative sort of person! You could even make fan YouTube channels to support a brand, movie, genre, or person you love! The same can be done with Instagram accounts. I know various people who have created fan accounts for The Hunger Games or Tris Prior from Divergent and gotten wildly popular from them. You would be surprised at how big some of these people have become!
10. Where can I promote my blog?

lolriot

Two good communities you should check out if you are looking for something popular are Blokube and Blog Catalog! Blokube is a free site that lets you promote individual blog posts by just signing up! It is wildly popular across the globe. Blog Catalog lets you create a profile and promote your blog as a whole, then allowing you to talk to other similar bloggers! Be safe on these communities, and don't reveal personal information. For additional websites, there is a whole forum dedicated to giving bloggers exposure! I personally don't use communities, but I know bloggers who have succeeded by using these. Now, are you limited to these communities? By all means, no! Why don't you go ahead and start your own community? There are various tutorials on how to do so on YouTube and Google.

11. Lastly, where can I find detailed blogging tips?

Blogging communities didn't work for me. They were too personal and not professional enough for me. Plus, I wasn't looking to socialize with other bloggers- I was solely looking to get tips from them and share what I knew with people like me. If you are looking to develop your blog mainly by other bloggers promoting you, then check them out! One of my favorites on Google+ was this one, where there are always people available to answer your questions. If you want to do your own thing, like I did, and blog for the fun of it, don't join these communities. You're not going to find yourself checking them often, and they will continue to spam you! Trust me, I learned this the hard way!


Thank you so much for taking the time to read this post (by the way, it's always good to thank your readers for their time at the end of posts!)! If you have any other questions, leave them in a comment below, and I will get back to you as soon as I can! ~ Sanjana